Monthly Archives: June 2014

Post navigation

Dr. Carlisle Holland sent us a look at the history of Osteopathic board certification:

I was a professor at TCOM during the period when board certification in general-family practice and OMM were developed. Even then, there was discussion about whether or not such certifications could be used against physicians to deny or restrict privileges to practice or gain privileges to use some hospitals. During that period the AMA was still denying full reciprocity with DOs and DO post-doc education programs, so our profession created boards that were of comparable academic rigor to be certain that DO boards were at a parity with MD boards in specialties, BUT with the recognized need to include Osteopathic information and practice methods in addition to the MD material.

Thanks for the update. That was one thing that John Crosby did well. He initiated and sent out the daily AOA update email. This is something sadly missing now.

At any rate, the ACGME/OGME merger will produce many unintended consequences. I’m sure you’ve already read the position paper by Norman Gevitz PhD on how the unintended consequence of the merger will result in the destruction of the Osteopathic education system and it schools, and the profession with it. I am in agreement with Dr. Gevitz and I am very concerned for the survival of the osteopathic profession, schools and training programs. It seems to me this merger comes down from the top leadership not grassroots up from the bottom membership. At the AROC conference, the merger idea was presented as a done deal or fait accompli; not a flexible idea subject to change. There are other ideas to fund and maintain Osteopathic based OGME residency slots. Further, it seems like the plan would go in lockstep with the governments plan for OCC MOC leaving to MOL and the government controlled practice of medicine. You can bet your bottom dollar that this would not include Osteopathic anything.

We have strived to evolve a discussion and develop an intelligent alternative solution set including compromise where possible except when Patients Come First is suggested to become a second place item.

In the absence of any commitment to actually begin this process, the membership and the unrepresented majority must take action.

This will be couched by the incumbents as a direct attempt at revolution or mutiny to those who are in the organization and revolution or terrorism to those outside it.

The SIM – State Innovation Model- promoted by HHS for the States to set up medical homes is the backdoor to government control of physicians and patients through monitoring of everything and everyone involved, through determination of what is quality and what HHS decides is cost effective.

The avenue to get this information is the electronic patient medical record EHR of the SIM programs and the health insurance claims data from the All-Payer Claims Databases – APCD that the states are setting up. These are frightening invasions of privacy that could be hacked, leaked or used for blackmail of a politician and thus threaten our democracy. I am working on the patient privacy issue because once gone, it cannot be brought back.

While many physicians donate their services seeing patients, volunteering at Free and community clinics, freely working on hospital and other not-for-profit committees, there is a tendency for retired academic physicians who have always had a hard time relating to those of us in the trenches to get big salaries from the American Boards and other organized medical societies. Are you interested in how to find out what your specialty pays its leaders?

I also sent this to AAPS for review regarding AOA mandating membership fees yearly to stay compliant and keep our board certification ACTIVE. Even though my board certification certificate is time-dated effective from 1-1-2015 through 12-31-2022, the AOA indicates that if I don’t do the OCC=Osteopathic Continuous Certification and pay my yearly mandated membership with the AOA then my Osteopathic Board Certification in Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulation Medicine will no longer be effective.

I believe that this is a violation of our constitutional rights, antitrust, and other violations.

I would like to see if we can get all the board certified time dated Osteopathic Physicians on board with us to file a class-action law suit against all involved.